A Miraculous Cell Transplant Helps a Paralyzed Man Walk Again

Cells from his nose helped rebuild his spinal cord.

Darek Fidyka thought he wouldn't be able to walk again after being paralyzed in 2010. But the Bulgarian man and former firefighter, who lost mobility after being stabbed multiple times in the back, is taking steps again thanks to a groundbreaking new medical procedure.

According to the BBC, Polish doctors used nasal cells that affect the sense of smell, and grew them in a laboratory. Then, after two weeks, they transplanted 500,000 of the cells into Fidyka's spinal cord. They also took nerve tissue from his ankle and moved it to his spinal cord.

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Before the surgery, he had undergone two years of intense therapy but saw no results. But three months after the surgery, he noticed his left leg had more muscle on it, and six months later, he took his first steps. Two years later, he can walk with assistance, though he gets tired easily, and has regained some feeling in his body.

The doctors, who published their results in the journal Cell Transplantation, say Fidyka's recovery is due to the cells regenerating parts of his spinal cord, letting signals from his brain travel to the rest of his body. And the cells responsible for your sense of smell are the only ones in your nervous system that regenerate throughout your whole life. The doctors hope to use the case to conduct clinical trials on other paralyzed patients.

For Fidyka, the pioneering surgery is giving him new hope for the rest of his life. "When you can't feel almost half your body, you are helpless," he told the BBC, "but when it starts coming back it's like you were born again."